The reports of the impact of
Typhoon Haiyan on the Philippines are startling, but not that surprising
when the scope of the storm
is described as
being hundreds of miles across carrying sustained winds of 147mph, gusts of 170
mph, and waves as high as 45ft. It seems almost impossible to imagine such
forces at work until you see the photos and see the devastation. Here's hoping
as much help can come to the victims of this as quickly as possible, as food and
water are immediate issues, and one can also only hope that the dire projections
of loss of life from this turn out to be overestimated.

Jivaro wrote on Nov 10, 2013, 18:57:Loved the g-dome we lived in as a kid. Never understood why more people who build their own homes don't choose to build a dome. So many ups, so few downs. Easy to build modularly as well.

I have no idea if they would helped these poor people or not, I am no architect and I have never read up on the subject. That storm was ridiculous in size as well. All I know is that our dome endured the '89 Bay Area earthquake and some crazy flash flooding just fine. It did however die a horrible death due to a forest fire. (years after we left) Nothings perfect I guess.

Well, canvas geodomes will rip from any flying debris that hits but that's easy, fast, and cheap to fix and the frames should remain in tact. Anything more substantial - wattle and duab, straw bales and mud, etc. should survive it in-tact - again it all depends on the debris encountered. However, with no flat sides or right angles for the wind to push on the houses in and of themselves can easily withstand galeforce winds, where you're regular box home will see its roof ripped off, windows and walls caved in and torn away.

Also the tensile strength of the frames in geodomes is a billion times stronger than your regular box.

One of the ways Buckminster Fuller ("Bucky") would describe the differences in strength between a rectangle and a triangle would be to apply pressure to both structures. The rectangle would fold up and be unstable but the triangle withstands the pressure and is much more rigid--in fact the triangle is twice as strong. This principle directed his studies toward creating a new architectural design, the geodesic dome, based also upon his idea of "doing more with less." Fuller discovered that if a spherical structure was created from triangles, it would have unparalleled strength.

The sphere uses the "doing more with less" principle in that it encloses the largest volume of interior space with the least amount of surface area thus saving on materials and cost. Fuller reintroduced the idea that when the sphere's diameter is doubled it will quadruple its square footage and produce eight times the volume.

The spherical structure of a dome is one of the most efficient interior atmospheres for human dwellings because air and energy are allowed to circulate without obstruction. This enables heating and cooling to occur naturally. Geodesic shelters have been built all around the world in different climates and temperatures and still they have proven to be the most efficient human shelter one can find.

More specifically, the dome is energy efficient for many reasons:

Its decreased surface area requires less building materials. Exposure to cold in the winter and heat in the summer is decreased because, being spherical, there is the least surface area per unity of volume per structure. The concave interior creates a natural airflow that allows the hot or cool air to flow evenly throughout the dome with the help of return air ducts. Extreme wind turbulence is lessened because the winds that contribute to heat loss flow smoothly around the dome. It acts like a type of giant down-pointing headlight reflector and reflects and concentrates interior heat. This helps prevent radiant heat loss.

The net annual energy savings for a dome owner is 30% less than normal rectilinear homes according to the Oregon Dome Co. This is quite an improvement and helps save the environment from wasted energy. Domes have been designed by Bucky and others to withstand high winds and extreme temperatures as seen in the Polar regions."

"There are two kinds of people in this world; people who love delis, and people you shouldn’t associate with.” - Damon Runyan

"This is a travel video showcasing the incredible Kampong Ayer (also known as the world's largest water stilt village) located in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. http://nomadicsamuel.com : Kampong Ayer, or the Water Village (Malay: Kampong Ayer) is an area of Brunei's capital city Bandar Seri Begawan that is situated after the Brunei Bay. 39,000 people live in the Water Village. This represents roughly ten percent of the nation's total population. All of the Water Village buildings are constructed on stilts above the Brunei River.Built entirely of stilt houses and wooden walkways, this cluster of 42 villages housing more than 30,000 inhabitants is the world's largest water village. Some people refer to it as the 'Venice of the East'."

Gentlemen, there are plenty of much cheaper, much more eco-friendly, viable alternatives for housing in any of those sorts of zones. Plenty!

"There are two kinds of people in this world; people who love delis, and people you shouldn’t associate with.” - Damon Runyan

Loved the g-dome we lived in as a kid. Never understood why more people who build their own homes don't choose to build a dome. So many ups, so few downs. Easy to build modularly as well.

I have no idea if they would helped these poor people or not, I am no architect and I have never read up on the subject. That storm was ridiculous in size as well. All I know is that our dome endured the '89 Bay Area earthquake and some crazy flash flooding just fine. It did however die a horrible death due to a forest fire. (years after we left) Nothings perfect I guess.

Cutter wrote on Nov 10, 2013, 14:14:When will these places in hurricane zones start building housing designed for hurricanes, like domes where the winds can't catch onto flat surfaces. Stilt housing, etc. Building boxes on the ground in these places is ultimately a waste of resources and money.

dude, there's only so much you can build for. erecting housing to stand up to this giant bitch would've been prohibitively expensive, even for us.

Yeah, a couple of grand for some straw, wattle, and labour is just so much more expensive then the boxes we live in.

You people may want try and do some *actual* research on this stuff before shooting it down because it's clear you know *nothing* about the topic. There are better, cheaper ways to build hosing for flood planes, hurricane and tornado alleys. All governments and people do now is throw good money after bad every-time one of these tragedies occur. And what makes it worse is precisely because damage on this scale is entirely avoidable. That's ok, you just keep thinking inside the box though.

Indeed, geodesic house design is nothing new. It's been conceptualized as a 100% environment proof building method.... with proper technology, an entire village could be inside such a dome. With just dirt and clay, you can at least protect a part of your house from wind and debris damage.

But nothing you do will protect you from flooding. Not living there seems like a better choice.

Cutter wrote on Nov 10, 2013, 14:14:When will these places in hurricane zones start building housing designed for hurricanes, like domes where the winds can't catch onto flat surfaces. Stilt housing, etc. Building boxes on the ground in these places is ultimately a waste of resources and money.

I would say probably when these places get rich enough to afford that?

^^

And not to put too fine a point on it, but a storm like that would lay waste to a lot of the cyclone rated housing in Aus (ostensibly cat 5 rated but YMMV). After seeing some of the pictures of what Katrina did to the US, or Yasi did in Aus, second world buildings cobbled together from whatever people can lay their hands on are nothing better than ammunition for the storm.

Cutter wrote on Nov 10, 2013, 14:14:When will these places in hurricane zones start building housing designed for hurricanes, like domes where the winds can't catch onto flat surfaces. Stilt housing, etc. Building boxes on the ground in these places is ultimately a waste of resources and money.

dude, there's only so much you can build for. erecting housing to stand up to this giant bitch would've been prohibitively expensive, even for us.

Yeah, a couple of grand for some straw, wattle, and labour is just so much more expensive then the boxes we live in.

You people may want try and do some *actual* research on this stuff before shooting it down because it's clear you know *nothing* about the topic. There are better, cheaper ways to build hosing for flood planes, hurricane and tornado alleys. All governments and people do now is throw good money after bad every-time one of these tragedies occur. And what makes it worse is precisely because damage on this scale is entirely avoidable. That's ok, you just keep thinking inside the box though.

"There are two kinds of people in this world; people who love delis, and people you shouldn’t associate with.” - Damon Runyan

I wonder if it has more to do with being completely outclassed by younger sister Elizabeth, who has some serious chops. She garnered acclaim in the starring role in Martha Marcy May Marlene, and was very good in Red Lights. She has upcoming roles in the Oldboy remake, Avengers 2, and Godzilla.

Never heard of her, but looked her up on IMDB. Looks like she could be a triplet to the other two...

Cutter wrote on Nov 10, 2013, 14:14:When will these places in hurricane zones start building housing designed for hurricanes, like domes where the winds can't catch onto flat surfaces. Stilt housing, etc. Building boxes on the ground in these places is ultimately a waste of resources and money.

dude, there's only so much you can build for. erecting housing to stand up to this giant bitch would've been prohibitively expensive, even for us.

Cutter wrote on Nov 10, 2013, 14:14:When will these places in hurricane zones start building housing designed for hurricanes, like domes where the winds can't catch onto flat surfaces. Stilt housing, etc. Building boxes on the ground in these places is ultimately a waste of resources and money.

I would say probably when these places get rich enough to afford that?

When will these places in hurricane zones start building housing designed for hurricanes, like domes where the winds can't catch onto flat surfaces. Stilt housing, etc. Building boxes on the ground in these places is ultimately a waste of resources and money.

"There are two kinds of people in this world; people who love delis, and people you shouldn’t associate with.” - Damon Runyan

I wonder if it has more to do with being completely outclassed by younger sister Elizabeth, who has some serious chops. She garnered acclaim in the starring role in Martha Marcy May Marlene, and was very good in Red Lights. She has upcoming roles in the Oldboy remake, Avengers 2, and Godzilla.

1badmf wrote on Nov 10, 2013, 13:03:possibly the strongest storm in history. i was being my usual disinterested self when the local weather bunny (evelyn taft yuuuuummmy!) reported sustained winds of 195mph and gusts of 235! but that was before it made landfall. eyepopping numbers.

Yeah, I think it's safe to say this is the strongest storm on record. "Officially" there are a few stronger ones, but those appeared in a 4 year period between 1958 and 1962, and none since then, so I it's widely accepted that the measurements were off. 195 sustained is like a 300 mile wide Cat 4 tornado. Inconceivably devastating.